Scotland rugby legend, Scott Hastings, ‘Drams Up’ charity support for new limited edition Glengoyne ‘Auld Enemy Dram’

February 2012, Edinburgh: Scotland rugby legend Scott Hastings has teamed up with award-winning Glengoyne Highland Single Malt Whisky to launch a new limited edition ‘Auld Enemy Dram’ in aid of charity. 

Glengoyne hosted a new sporting dinner: The Glengoyne Auld Enemy Dinner at The Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh on Friday 3rd February 2012, bringing together rugby legends and supporters to celebrate the history of the Calcutta Cup.  Held on the eve of the world’s oldest international rugby fixture, the new event will become an annual occurrence taking place in Edinburgh and London respectively.

As well as providing warming drams throughout the evening, Glengoyne recognised the past exploits of players of this iconic game and honoured the occasion by releasing a limited edition ‘Auld Enemy Dram’, a Glengoyne 1990 Single Cask bottling.  Proceeds from which will go to their two chosen charities – Help For Heroes and The Bill McLaren Foundation.

Scott Hastings led proceedings at The Glengoyne Auld Enemy Dinner, also attended by Scotland and England ex-internationals from the past 40 years, including, Finlay Calder, Gavin Hastings, Peter Winterbottom and Matt Dawson, along with many other Calcutta Cup veterans.

Neil Boyd, Commercial Director at Ian Macleod Distillers, commented: ‘‘Glengoyne Highland Single Malt Whisky is proud to have been the official sponsor of the inaugural 2012 Auld Enemy Dinner, which was a fantastic success. Established itself in 1833, Glengoyne recognises and celebrates the passion that is synonymous with this great rivalry, and the commitment and dedication of those that compete annually for the famous Calcutta Cup.

“Glengoyne is equally proud to have teamed up with Scotland rugby legend, Scott Hastings, to support both Help for Heroes and The Bill McLaren Foundation through the release of our new limited edition ‘Auld Enemy Dram’.  They are both excellent charities which were perfect partners for the great occasion. We at Glengoyne look forward to a long association with the Auld Enemy Dinner in years to come.”

The Auld Enemy Dram has a rich mahogany colour with a heavy and robust nose of hazelnut, prunes, cocoa powder, and liquorice with BBQ spice. The palate is powerful with good balance of red apple, raisins, wafer cone and subtle citrus.  The finish maintains strength with increased fruits and dry spice.

Retailing at £195, The Limited Edition Glengoyne ‘Auld Enemy Dram’ is now available to buy at Vino’s Edinburgh  stores and online at vinowines.co.uk or at http://www.glengonye.com/

Award-winning Glengoyne Highland Single Malt is one of the leading malt whiskies in the world and has been distilled at Glengoyne since 1833. Using methods passed down for generations, Glengoyne is made with knowledge, passion and craftsmanship.

Glengoyne is one of Scotland’s most accessible distilleries, located just 30 minutes north of Glasgow in a beautiful wooded glen overlooking the breath-taking West Highland Way.

Notes:

Photo

   Picture 1 (L to R): Scott Hastings (Scotland rugby legend) & Neil Boyd (Commercial Director at Ian Macleod Distillers)

Auld Enemy Dram tasting notes

Colour: Rich mahogany.

Nose: Heavy and robust; hazelnut, prunes, cocoa powder, liquorice with BBQ spice.

Palate: Powerful with good balance, red apple, raisins, wafer cone and subtle citrus.

Finish: Maintains strength with increased fruits and dry spice.

Glengoyne

Award-winning Glengoyne Highland Single Malt is one of the leading malt whiskies in the world and has been distilled at Glengoyne since 1833. Using methods passed down for generations, Glengoyne is made with knowledge, passion and craftsmanship.

The Glengoyne portfolio consists of the 10 Years Old, 12 Years Old Cask Strength, 12 Years Old at 43%, 17 Years Old , 21 Years Old and Vintage 1972 as well as special limited edition bottlings released every year. To buy online visit http://www.glengoyne.com/.

Glengoyne is one of Scotland’s most accessible distilleries, located just 30 minutes north of Glasgow in a beautiful wooded glen overlooking the breath-taking West Highland Way. Tours start from just £6.50, call 01360 550 254 or visit http://www.glengoyne.com/ for more details and to book.

Help For Heroes

Help For Heroes is a charity that does exactly what it says on the tin. Help for Heroes strives towards 100% effectiveness, so that for every £1 donated, £1 will go directly to helping wounded servicemen and women with grants that aim to provide practical, direct support.

The Bill McLaren Foundation

The Bill McLaren Foundation was set up to raise funds to support the development of rugby and its values and also to recognise the contribution Bill McLaren made to rugby through education and the development of an interpretative centre including Bill’s extensive archive including his big sheets.  It has three key goals:

To develop and promote the sport of rugby union and its values
To encourage and provide sporting opportunities for young people
To create an educative centre which will include the Bill McLaren Archive

The Relaxed Whisky Weekend

7 – 9 September 2012

Fellow Whisky enthusiasts,

The first newsletter of 2012, it’s about time. We have been busy the past few months. And so have you! Tickets sales are going really well. Fantastic! Looking forward to seeing you all in September. Or perhaps before then at one of the whisky fairs on our Maltstock promo tour. We would also like to welcome all the friendly people we’ve met at the whisky fair in the Hague last November. We really enjoyed meeting you and hope to see many of you in September.

Club Bottle Battle

Try saying that ten times in a row 😉 There are a lot of whisky clubs out there. We have listed 462 on our website so far. Many of them do their own club bottlings. We thought it would be fun to compare those bottles. So we would like to invite all whisky clubs out there to enter one or more of their club bottlings. The label has to be clearly state it is a bottling for your whisky club. It does not have to be a recent bottling. You’re also allowed to enter more than one bottle and thus increase your chances.

You can bring the bottle to Maltstock yourself. But please send us an e-mail with details of the bottling before August 1st. If you are not able to join us at Maltstock this year, but you would like to enter your club bottling, no problem. Just send it to Maltstock HQ, Nimrodstraat 54, 6531 LH, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

We’re also looking for a sponsor to provide a nice award for the winning club. Please contact us if you’re interested.

Highlander Inn breakfast

We are very happy that the Highlander Inn will again travel from lovely Craigellachie in Speyside to Maltstock to make sure everybody will get an excellent Scottish breakfast. Of course you do not have to wait until September to try their excellent breakfast and enjoy their fantastic service. All you have to do is travel to Craigellachie Scotland and experience their warm welcome. Visit www.whiskyinn.com for all details. You can also try a real (Maltstock) whisky breakfast!

Maltstock promo tour

The Maltstock promo team will be on the road again the coming months. We hope to meet you at one of the whisky fairs. We will be at:

– 11 and 12 February, Gent, Belgium
– 18 February, Hielander whisky festival Alkmaar, the Netherlands
– 11 March, Duncan Taylor at L&B cafe in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
– 23-25 March, Whiskyfestival Noord-Nederland, Groningen, the Netherlands
– 28 April, whisky fair Limburg, Germany
– 3-7 May, Spirit of Speyside, Scotland

Promote Maltstock

We really enjoy seeing Maltstock fans promoting Maltstock. Check out our Facebook page for some fantastic pictures. Keep them coming! You can either post them on our Facebook page or e-mail them us. If you would like to promote Maltstock as well, please contact us and we can provide a banner and flyers.

We’re currently working on the Maltstock program. More on this in the next newsletter. We’re also open to creative ideas, so if you have a good or crazy idea, let us know. Make sure you don’t miss out and get your tickets on time. Last year Maltstock was sold out.

See you in September, see you at Maltstock!

Arthur, Bob, Eline, Rogier & Teun
www.maltstock.com

Ladies and Gentlemen are cordially invited to enjoy a connoisseur’s evening featuring rare & exceptional single malt, Scotch and unique whiskies from around the world. The evening includes a delicious dinner buffet as well as a selection of premium imported cigars for our guests’ later enjoyment. The Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza brings the discerning enthusiast the opportunity to sample the participating whiskies in a sophisticated and elegant environment with genuine camaraderie and knowledgeable representatives from each participating distillery. A gala evening featuring an outstanding selection of the most prestigious single malts, Scotch and whiskies from distilleries around the world, tour journal with tasting notes, souvenir snifter glass, unlimited tasting expressions and much, much more! Brought to you exclusively by The Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America, Ltd. and Robb Report.

The Society has kindly offered Whisky Intelligence readers the Society member discount on tickets. (Members tickets to the Extravaganza are $135.00 each (for the first two) and non-member guest tickets are $150.00 each).  Please use the promotional code “WI2012”  when booking tickets directly from the website via the link below or call them at 1 800.990.1991. Special rates for groups of 8 or more. 
 
https://www.amerisurf.com/singlemaltextravaganza/form_tickets.html
 
All events from 7:00pm-9:00pm. Registration begins at 7:00pm. Business casual, Jackets preferred. No denim or athletic attire.

Spring 2012 Extravaganza Schedule

ATLANTA Wednesday March 28, 2012 The Intercontinental Buckhead
3315 Peachtree Road NE Atlanta, GA 30326

HOUSTON    Wednesday April 18, 2012 The Intercontinental Houston Near The Galleria
2222 West Loop South Houston, TX 77027

DALLAS  Wednesday April 25, 2012 Dallas/Addison Marriott Quorum By The Galleria
14901 Dallas Parkway Dallas, TX 75254

DENVER Wednesday May 2, 2012 The Brown Palace Hotel
321 17th Street Denver, CO 80202

NEW YORK Thursday May 10, 2012 The Roosevelt Hotel
Madison at 45th Street New York, NY 10017

Following on from the success of the Earl Magnus series of whiskies, Thor represents the first coming from Highland Park’s stunning Valhalla Collection; a range of four unique whiskies, released annually, taking inspiration from the legendary Nordic gods of old.

Bottled at a robust 52.1% abv this limited edition 16 year old whisky comes in a unique wooden frame, which echoes the fearsome contours of a traditional Viking long ship.

Tasting Notes

Nose – A powerful blast of aromatic smoke, followed by a delicate
floral sweetness giving way to rich dried fruits.

Palate – Smoke, honey and an intense rich fruit flavour from the
sherry casks. Big complex flavours, perfectly balanced.

Finish – Long and complex, some smoke and barley,
with just a little chocolate bitterness.

Overall – A whisky to match Thor himself, powerful, complex and beguiling.

£114.90 per Bottle

To place an order please visit milroys.co.uk, call Lee on 020 7437 2385 or email  Lee.Tomlinson@jeroboams.co.uk 
 
Our mailing address is:

Milroy’s of Soho
3 Greek Street
London, England W1D 4NX

Loch Fyne Whiskies Stocks ‘GlenDronach Parliament 21yo Miniature‘

 GlenDronach Parliament 21yo 5cl  48% abv  £8.10 inc vat  £6.75 ex vat

Loch Fyne Whiskies
david@lfw.co.uk

AUCHENTOSHAN CELEBRATES SUCCESSES OF 2011

As 2011 has drawn to an end, Auchentoshan, Scotland’s only triple distilled Single Malt whisky, reflects on the brand successes of the year; from its first ever mixology competition, to continuing to challenge the perceptions of whisky with its unique Auchentoshan Presents Sunday parties.

2011 saw a dedicated on-trade push for Auchentoshan Three Wood, promoting its unique complexity and versatility. Auchentoshan launched the first ever, transatlantic Auchentoshan Switch mixology competition that uses only the Three Wood. The prize was a career-changing, 14 day switch across the Atlantic for two outstanding bartenders (one from the UK and one from the US) to work in prestigious London and New York establishments: 69 Colebrooke Row and Apotheke.

Over 100 top bartenders entered, with 20 finalists from the UK and US selected to attend the final showdown. The UK event took place at East London warehouse space, Village Underground, with an esteemed panel of judges overseeing the three rounds: Tony Conigliaro (co-owner of 69 Colebrooke Row). Giles Looker (owner of Soulshakers Bar Consultancy) and Neil Ridley (journalist and co-founder of revered whisky blog CaskStrength).

Martin Ball from Corridor, Manchester, the UK winner, will head to Apotheke in Spring 2012 to experience some world-class molecular mixology, whilst US winner Charles Joly from The Drawing Room, Chicagowill head over to 69 Colebrooke Row.

To further support the Switch in trade, Auchentoshan ran a London in-house cocktail competition whereby the winner would be automatically entered into the Switch UK final. The contest challenged bartenders from eight leading London cocktail bars to create an original recipe using the Auchentoshan Three Wood. All winners were taken to the distillery in Scotland for the final. The winner was Dav Eames from Saf in Shoreditch with A Decadent Dram, and as a result, the expression and two cocktails have since been listed at this top bar and restaurant.

As part of the dedicated on-trade push for the Auchentoshan Three Wood, the expression has gained listing in some of the most renowned bars across the UK, including Shaker&Company, Paramount, Soho(both including two cocktails), 14 sites of the Gaucho Restaurant Group, Donovan Bar at Browns Hotel(includingan Old Fashioned cocktail), as well aslisting across the entire Drake and Morgan Groupin London– The Anthologist, The Drift, The Refinery, The Parlour and The Folly – with two cocktails listed for 2012and staff training completed for over 80 bar and floor staff.

Continuing to challenge perceptions that whisky is the preserve of an older, pipe-toting, slipper-wearing gentleman, ‘Auchentoshan Presents’ went on tour. The series of Sunday parties mixed unique whisky tastings with dance floor flailings co-curated by promoters who, like the whisky, do things differently.

The tour kicked off in July in Glasgow, the home of Auchentoshan, at Black Sparrow bar with a Scottish Bank Holiday party. The series then travelled the UK over the summer, visiting Lock Tavernfor a Field Day festival pre-party, then Bristol’s Start The Bus, followed by Leeds’s Nation Of Shopkeepers and finally Manchester’s favourite intimate drinking hole, Common.

Over the course of the tour, over 150 target consumers experienced a unique Auchentoshan tasting,learning about the three key expressions, trying it with chocolate and also mixed as a long drink with fiery ginger ale and a wedge of orange. As the night unfolded so did the music. This summer saw Auchentoshan partnering with Field Day, Thunder Disco, Tramp!, Squeaky Hill, with top acts includingHot Chip (DJ set), Jacques Renault from DFA, Visions of Trees (live), Filthy Dukes, Feel My Bicep, Spectrals (live), Casper Cand Stopmakingme.

Continuing its collaborations with creatives, Auchentoshan Presents partnered with supper club Shacklewell Nights to create a hidden dining experience at Ruby House, a Victorian townhouse within the MC Motors building in Dalston, London. Guests were treated to impromptu whisky tastings and a three-course menu that either complemented Auchentoshan or incorporated it into the dish, carefully designed by Claire Roberson, Shacklewell Nights’ founder, and Jonathan Woolway from St John Restaurant. As the trend for supper clubs in unusual spaces continues to gain momentum, Auchentoshan Presents… Shacklewell Nights led the pack.

Auchentoshan continued to support innovative and stand-out events with like-minded brands and individuals withinthe arts, music, photography, design, and film, to increase consumer understanding of Auchentoshan’s brand positioning through association. In 2011, Auchentoshan supported 11 high-profile events, including Fashion East (London), Flatpack Film Festival (Birmingham), and Paul Smith Vogue Fashion Night Out (London). Almost 3,000 target consumers had tasted Auchentoshan, either straight or as a long serve with ginger ale and wedge of orange.

For more information, please visit http://www.auchentoshan.com/ and http://www.facebook.com/auchentoshan

Notes:

Auchentoshan

As Glasgow’s closest Distillery, Auchentoshan is truly unique as it is the only distillery to use a third still in the whisky making process. It means Auchentoshan is the only Single Malt Scotch whisky to triple distil every single drop. This third distillation takes the new spirit to 81.5% ABV (not 70% which is achieved through only distilling twice) making it the highest distillate of any Scottish distillery. The benefit? This strength removes the impurities and harshness often associated with single malts and takes the new spirit to it’s optimum strength for reacting with the casks during maturation, allowing Auchentoshan to extract maximum flavours from the wood. The result? A delicate, smooth malt with each expression strongly showcasing the character of cask it was matured in.

At the 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Auchentoshan 12 Year Old, Auchentoshan Classic and Auchentoshan Three Wood were all awarded a Silver Medal in the Spirits category. At the 2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Auchentoshan 18 Year Old also won a coveted Double Gold Medal. 

Loch Fyne Whiskies Reports;

The Arran Malt ‘Icons of Arran’ #4 The Eagle
(Due March 2012)

The fourth and final instalment of the Icons of Arran brings this series to a stylish close. The Eagle, perhaps the defining symbol of the Isle of Arran Distillery, is bottled from a selection of casks from our 1999 vintage and bottled at 46%. This limited release of 6,000 bottles will be bottled at 46% without chill-filtering.

The Arran Malt – Devil’s Punchbowl
(Due May 2012)

This Limited Edition release will highlight the cask selection skills of our Master Distiller and Blender James MacTaggart. Created from a vatting of our oldest and finest casks, the Devil’s Punchbowl will be bottled at Cask Strength and limited to approximately 6,000 bottles worldwide. With stunning packaging combined with superior whisky, we anticipate The Devil’s Punchbowl forming the first chapter of a new and highly sought after collection.

Announcing the launch of The Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society (and their accompanying website, www.jsmws.com) as a US based independent bottler of the world’s finest single cask, single malt, natural cask strength whiskies:

Operated as a members-¬‐only Society, founders Joshua Hatton (author of a blog by the same name, jewishsinglemaltwhiskysociety.com), Jason Johnstone-¬‐Yellin (author of guidscotchdrink.com) and Seth Klaskin conducted a quiet launch on February 8th, 2012, inviting 150 loyal readers of both whisky blogs and many people in whisky enthusiast circles, Jews and non-¬‐Jews alike. Public roll out will commence on February 20th, 2012.

With the initial membership drive in early 2012, the Society will be capped at 250-¬‐300 members. Later this year, the Society will have an initial release of up to 5 single cask whisky expressions. Soon thereafter, the Society will open its doors to another 250-¬‐500 members.

There will be three levels of membership available. Those that choose to join in on the base, or “White,” level can expect to enjoy the following for an initial $180 membership fee:

• 1 complimentary 750ml bottle of one of the Society’s single cask single malts (to ship in Summer, 2012)
• 2 Urban Bar tasting glasses bearing the Society’s logo
• 1 Society T-¬‐shirt bearing the Society’s logo
• A one year subscription to Whisky Advocate Magazine, a premier industry periodical
• A laminated membership card – individually numbered
• The very low $36/yr. renewal fee (due on the one year anniversary of receipt of the welcome bottle)
• The ability to invite a friend to join the Society

Late 2012 -¬‐ early 2013 will see the release of the second set of 5 exclusive bottlings and the introduction of the Society’s first non-¬‐Scotch single malt whisky.

While faithfully dedicated to independently bottling the finest and rarest single cask whiskies for their diverse membership, the JSMWS will aim to respect the needs of the religious, while also providing varied and new experiences for those who are less restricted in their Jewish expression. For example, they may release some bottlings of other spirits besides malt whisky in order to provide observant Jews with alternate fine spirits to accompany their Passover Seder, when malted grains are not permitted for consumption. (Many Jews observe Pesach Kashrut laws during Passover even if they do not observe Kashrut generally.)

At the same time, the Society will regularly offer whisky expressions that are aged in ex-¬‐wine casks so that members who are not restricted in their consumption can enjoy the full range of flavors and characteristics that the malt world has to offer. Because bottlings are inherently separate and self-¬‐contained, the Society will have the freedom to release some wine-¬‐finished expressions without contaminating the kosher-¬‐styled expressions.

By managing this issue thoughtfully, the Society aims to support and maintain the widest range of Jewish and non-¬‐Jewish, and observant and secular-¬‐minded whisky enthusiasts in their Society. The Society will always post detailed cask notes on the website and on the bottle labels. Members are urged to utilize these notes to make purchase decisions in line with their own dietary restrictions.

Members of the Society will enjoy members-¬‐only web content on www.jsmws.com. Such content will include, but will not be limited to, regular blog updates from Society founders detailing tasting notes, distillery visits and cask selections -¬‐ all provided through both text-¬‐based blog entries and robust video content.

The Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society is a genuine Society – with their website (www.jsmws.com) acting as a virtual space for folks to meet and advance their mutual affinity for finely crafted malt whiskies. It is a place for diverse people to identify with others who share an interest in the craft, the allure, the aesthetics, and the incredible depth of single malt spirits. Members will be able to learn new things and mingle in a virtual community with others in a supportive and fun environment. The Society is a place that welcomes everyone, and extends hospitality to all. It is a place where members can shed the stress of the day and achieve relaxation by exploring exceptional spirits among friends. It is a club that promotes social justice and consideration of others.

Furthermore, while primarily built upon a solid foundation of premium cask selection for their members, the Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society pledges to enact its commitment to social justice and philanthropy by donating 1% of all profits from the sale of their exclusive whiskies and merchandise.

The Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society invites members to enjoy their whiskies, their community and all of the growing programs it has to offer.

Introducing… the A to Z of the World’s Best Bars

As most people know, I do a fair bit of travelling as the Master Blender for Whyte & Mackay Whisky and a question that often pops up is “where do you and your team suggest for a drink in…” and it got us thinking, why don’t we put together a little list of some of the best bars we know.

Nice to already have a third E-pistle published this year from the Malt Maniacs! Pit reports about a trip to Scotland for finishing single malts in Bavarian beer casks.